Winter Fancy Foods Show 2016: Best Drinks

Winter Fancy Foods Show – San Francisco, CA January 2016

I was official press at the Winter Fancy Foods Show 2016 put on by the Specialty Food Association. I posted a ton of photos on Instagram, but in case you missed it, I’m posting my favorite foods in the category of sweets, drinks, and more. To avoid a ton of questions, EACH PRODUCT IS DIFFERENT: SOME PRODUCTS HAVE BEEN RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC AND WILL BE ON A SHELF NEAR YOU SOON. SOME PRODUCTS ARE STILL IN RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT AND WON’T BE OUT TO THE PUBLIC FOR MONTHS. SOME MIGHT BE DEVELOPED MORE BEFORE THEY HIT A GROCERY STORE NEAR YOU. This is up to the brand, and I don’t have much detail other than what I post about the product. Please inquire with the individual brand if you have questions. THIS INCLUDES QUESTIONS ABOUT INGREDIENTS – chances are I do not have details about all of the ingredients or manufacturing process yet. When the product is released to the public, you’ll probably see it on my Instagram! Hope this helps inspire you and get excited about the products coming down the pipeline for gluten-free living! Thanks for reading!

Califia Farms has created Better Half in original and unsweetened. This soy-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, carageenan-free yumminess is used as a vegan alternative to half ‘n half. Watch for this to be huge. The vegan creamer market has exploded in the past year.

Love love love functional teas. Choice Organic Teas has been featured in Gluten Free & More magazine, but I’ve never met them before. I got to see their newer line of functional teas – from expecting a baby to stress relief. Their tea is certified gluten free.

Is kraut juice considered a beverage? It is if I’m involved. Keep in mind I do not typically love kraut. I didn’t grow up on it and I don’t eat enough hot dogs to be familiar with it. So when I tried gut shot from Farmhouse Culture – a shot of the juices made during the fermentation – I had no idea what to expect. The garlic dill pickle juice? I would drink the whole damn bottle. That is, if it didn’t exceed my daily salt intake 10x over. Just try it you guys. If I can handle it, you can too.

Wine. In a can. I was skeptical at first, but ManCan has their game together as it comes to taste, consistency and sustainability. While these cans are not the vineyard labels I’m used to, it’s still really good wine. And they have a sparkling white wine in a can you guys. IN A CAN. While wine in a can isn’t a brand new concept, I think the trend will only grow as convenience is stressed more and more in product innovation.

Numi organic tea is slaying it every year. When they launched their turmeric tea line, I thought they couldn’t top it, but they keep coming up with innovations. This year they launched a high-end food service line called Nspire. It’s the most gorgeous luxury tea. It’s an experience from selecting a tea from the beautiful wooden box, to the premium cotton tea bag, to the high-quality tea inside. Another huge launch is the Care Tea line. You’ll only be able to tell that this line is the Numi tea brand if you look closely at the label. This line is a quick and easy way for a beginner tea lover to enjoy the Numi brand at an affordable price-point. I’m pretty sure I grabbed as many of the Hibiscus Red tea bags as I could before I left the booth. Get stoked for ways to drink Numi whenever and wherever you are this year.

Nutpods is a small company making certified gluten-free nut-milk creamers. These creamers have no sugar – just straight up “milk” from almonds and coconuts and flavors to create the French Vanilla and Hazelnut flavors. I expect to see these guys grow huge, even though the vegan creamer market is already expanding so quickly. There’s always a need for unsweetened versions of products – and Nutpods nails that.

I could have stayed all day at the Organic Gemini TigerNut Horchata booth just drinking their tigernut drinks (it’s a tuber, and you can all stop laughing now). Loving these drinks, but Organic Gemini has a whole line of tigernut products to use in baking or just for snacking. This brand is awesome – you need to get to know them now if you don’t already know!

Rebel Kitchen make individual dairy-free coconut “mylk” without refined sugar. These drinks are all natural, with real chunks of coconut in it. It’s vegan, paleo and gluten-free. The chai flavor is the newest addition, adding to the coffee and chocolate flavors. I can’t wait for what’s coming next from this brand (but shhhh…it’s a secret!).

You know how people take charcoal after they get glutened as a way to detox it out of your system? I see a real market for celiacs to enjoy this new U-Matcha Charcoal tea for detox from Republic of Tea. They recommend drinking this only twice a day if you are detoxing, so next time you get glutened, you can reach for a tea instead of a pill. I can’t wait for you guys to try this out. It tastes like matcha tea – it does not taste like that chalky burnt charcoal taste. The whole U-Matcha line is great – love that matcha is trending!

Royal Hawaiian, known for their macadamia nuts, have made a macadamia nut milk! I’m pretty excited to try these!

Craft sodas have been huge lately, and Sipp nailed this new flavor. I never though I’d like blood orange plus something spicy like jalapeno, but they nailed it. Look for Sipp in Target near you soon too!

Some people can’t handle coffee. I don’t judge them for that -it’s harsh on your system. But maybe instead of giving up coffee, try TruCup coffee instead. It’s a low acid coffee that’s even available in k-cups!

You know we love and support Owl’s Brew here at Celiac and the Beast. Mostly because we love booze – and the fact that they use tea mixers to make boozer better, well, that just won over our hearts. Look at Williams-Sonoma for seasonal flavors of Owl’s Brew and their new book Wise Cocktails!

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